Forging Of Fate
by Andromedaa
Summary: A death convinces Seven of Nine to forge a new fate for Voyager and her crew. This will be a story containing a romantic relationship between two female characters. If you don't like, plz don't read. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

_**AN: - **_**Everything belongs to Paramount. I'm just having some fun.**

_**Chapter 1:-**_

"Computer, begin recording Captain's Log: Supplemental." came the smooth staccato voice of Seven of Nine, the computer disregarding the raw and naked emotion seeping into her words.

"_My ship, USS Dragon and her two other sister ships were sent on a 'search and retrieve mission' three days ago by Starfleet Command. We had to find and apprehend Admiral Janeway._

_Starfleet Intelligence had come across information stating that Admiral Kathryn Janeway was attempting to acquire an ancient Klingon artifact which is supposed to give power to the wielder to travel through time."_

Seven couldn't bear to sit on her Ready Room couch anymore, so began pacing the length of her office.

"_Her whereabouts were tracked to an abandoned mineshaft on Koloplak Prime near the Federation-Klingon border. It was decided that two crew members of each ship would be selected for this mission. I was chosen to lead the away team in this mission. We soon found the admiral along with four heavily armed Klingons. In the ensuing confrontation, Ensign Frank Desmond from the USS Phoenix and Crewman Sadia of the USS Griffin disobeyed my direct orders to hold fire. They both opened fire on the Klingon guards, killing one instantly. The unstable mineshaft began to collapse upon us due to the shots fired. I got separated from my tam along with the admiral._

_She was fatally injured due to the rockslide. She only managed to hold on long enough to instruct me in sending her goodbye message to her sister, Phoebe Janeway. _

_The artifact in question, an amulet, was destroyed in the incident._

_Admiral Kathryn Janeway died on14__th__ March 2412 at 1647 hours."_

"Computer, End Captain's Log."

Seven finally let her grief overcome her, to realize that today she had lost someone who was her savior, mentor, friend and mother. She finally let the tears come as she fell to her knees her left hand pressed over her shattered heart and her right hand clutching a blood-stained amulet.__


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer 1:- **_I own and/or earn nothing from this. Paramount is the boss of all. I'm just having some fun.

_**Disclaimer 2:- **_All the klingon words I have used from '' and ''. Own nothing of that either.

_**AN: - **_My very first story, so plz be kind but honest. Thank you Biggest-Baddest-Wolf for ur gr8 review. It is most definitely a T/7 fic. The plot just needs time to build. Thanx once again.

_**Chapter 2:-**_

"Captain Seven, we are entering Earth's upper orbit. Starfleet Command has given their clearance to transport the prisoners into their custody." said the Ops officer on the bridge.

"Make it so Mr. Stevens," Seven ordered, feeling a vindictive satisfaction knowing that the admiral's 'murderers' were soon going to be punished, "and prepare my shuttle for flight. Have Admiral Janeway's coffin loaded in it. I will handle this myself."

***********

Seven could barely keep herself composed through the entire funeral ceremony. Her mind was continuously bombarded by memories, some good some bad.

The funeral itself was a small and private affair attended by Phoebe Janeway, her two children and a few handful of Voyager's crewmembers that were still alive.

Slowly, one by one, all left after shedding their tears and paying their respects. All except one.

"We somehow always end up alone don't we Kathryn?" Seven asked, not expecting an answer. After a few minutes even she had to leave, with a silent promise of completing Kathryn Janeway's last mission.

***********

When Seven entered her small cottage that she used every time she returned to Earth, she immediately knew that someone had been there. Entering her bedroom, Seven found a data crystal on her pillow. Placing it in her computer's data port Kathryn Janeway's visage greeted her.

"_Hello Seven. If you are reading this then I know that you have just returned from my funeral. Please forgive my nephew and niece for breaking into your home to leave this for you, but it was necessary and they did this for me. They know all about what I have been upto and they have been assisting me in my life's last mission. I did NOT want to include them, considering what this ritual entails._

_But damn their Janeway stubbornness, they finally managed to convince me. So if you agree to do this mission for me, please don't hesitate to take their offered assistance. Read the attached file, it contains all the instructions. Michael and Resse will contact you in 2 days. _

_Goodbye Seven, you were the daughter never had and you have no idea how proud I am of you. Good luck."_

***********

As the message had said, the Janeway siblings indeed contacted Seven 2 days later. After reading up on the ritual, Seven realized why Janeway had been against the children joining her. Seven, herself was very hesitant but deep down she knew that it just HAD to be done.

So after months of researching and planning, here they stood, outside the Ritual Cave of the Klingon Empires most sacred religious site. It was the cave where it is said that Kathless was born.

Entering the spacious caravan, they soon found the temple's inner sanctum. It was lit by real wooden torches that hung on the walls and oil lamps that hung from the ceiling. In the very centre was a 20 foot tall stone statue of a grave looking klingon in ancient battle armor. It had a 16 foot tall stone bathleth by its side.

Without a word all three of them went to work, the gravity of the situation weighing heavily upon them. Seven proceeded to draw the ritualistic circle around the grand statue of Kathless.

The circle had to be in the blood of those who were to perform the ritual. Seven went about in a circle painting the ground in hers, Michael's and Resse's blood along with symbols and words in a dialect that was long dead and passed from the halls of knowledge.

Michael and Resse were busy preparing their bathleths and traditional klingon armor. Soon all three of them changed into their respective attire. The siblings in klingon armor and Seven in a flowing blood red robe.

Seven stood 20 feet away facing the statue while Michael stood 10 feet equidistant from Seven and the statue to her left. Resse was positioned as his mirror image on Seven's right. With everything ready, Seven began chanting in Klingonese.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any of this, I'm just having some fun.

Rating: 'M' for later chapters and also cuz I want to be on the safe side.

Pairing: B'Elanna Torres and Seven of Nine 9 (of course)

Feedback: Yes Plz, I need it.

AN: All the Klingon words I have refered from .com and the dictionary provided there. A few words that I could not find, I made up.

AN 2: Sorry, I said that I would post in a day or two but took a lot more than that. The reason being that I had my LLB 2nd Semister exams coming on so I had to buckle down and study. But I finished with those today so here's the next chappy!

AN3: I posted this once but forgot to add the disclaimers so plz excuse my mistake.

Chapter 3:-

Seven stood facing the gargantuan statue of the patron of the Klingon people and their culture. The Amulet responsible for the Admiral's death, hung limp around her neck by a leather cord. It was one of the few times when Seven found herself truly nervous and bordering on scared.

Thinking back to those few times when she had felt these same feelings, only on different levels, her mind flooded with memories so vivid, it was as if the events occurred merely days ago rather than years.

She remembered her first true brush with these feelings when her cortical node had begun to fail, the first time she met the Borg children, her first visit to the Federation that she could remember, her first posting on a ship other than Voyager, her first Command... the list went on. But for each of these times, her adoptive mother, Katherine Janeway had always been there beside her, offering comfort, wisdom and a mother's undying love.

Today for the first time, she could not seek that comfort, wisdom and love and that more than anything terrified her. For the first time in a long time, even in a crowd, she felt that she was alone.

With a deep sigh, Seven shook herself out of these thoughts and concentrated completely on the task at hand. Another deep breath, Seven began chanting.

~Nob telDu' Daq wIj mu'mey,

Kev'lan, SoS vo' Kathless HoSghaj,

Duy vo' poH, Qoy mIj tlhobtaHghach,

jIH 'uch Arklan'th vo' poH,

Nob qul je hartaHghach Daq mIj neH,

jIH nob dochvammey nobmey daHjaj,

Vaj vetlh lojmlt vo' poH,

DIchDaq taH poSmaHpu'.

Quv ToDta'

Ruv NobHa'pu'

QorDu' Cheghtu'

No jIH chugh SoH wIv,

TIqDaq HoSna' tu'lu',

WIj tIq ghaH teH.~

"Give wings to my words,

Kev'lan, mother of Kathless the Almighty,

Angel of Time; hear my prayer,

I hold the Amulet of Time,

Give fire and faith to my desire,

I offer these sacrifices today,

So that the door of time shall be opened.

Honour Redeemed

Justice Restored

Family Returned

Judge me if you choose,

Real power is in the Heart,

My heart is true."

As Seven spoke the final words to her heartfelt prayer, Michael and Resse unsheathed their Daq'tags as one and drove the ritual blades straight through their own hearts. Moments passed as the twins' life slowly ended in their sacrifices and their soulless bodies fell at Kathless's feet.

With tears of pain and desperation in her eyes, Seven unleashed an almighty howl to Sto'vo'kor, to warn Heaven of the arrival of two brave and selfless souls. As her howl echoed in the cavern, Seven felt rather than heard the beginning of an insistent beat of what sounded like battle drums of old.

At first it was faint, but within a few minutes the thrumming grew in volume until Seven could feel her very bones vibrating with every sonic boom that the drums released. She fell to her knees, clutching her head due to the onset of a migraine letting out another howl, one of pain.

Then all went black.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own any of this, I'm just having some fun.

Rating: 'M' for later chapters and also cuz I want to be on the safe side.

Pairing: B'Elanna Torres and Seven of Nine 9 (of course)

Feedback: Yes Plz, I need it.

AN: All the Klingon words I have refered from .com and the dictionary provided there. A few words that I could not find, I made up.

AN 2: To all who reviewed, thanx cuz you've put a million watt smile on my face.  
And now.......

Chapter 4:-

Seven didn't know if it had been seconds, minutes, hours or even days. But what she did know was that the oppressive darkness and silence was finally fading away. Seven noticed the flickering light when she finally opened her eyes. She realized that she had begun to wake up when she heard a murmur of a voice telling her that it was time to rise.

Getting up, Seven took stock of her surroundings. She realized that she was not in Kathless's cave any longer. She found a number of animal skins on the rough wooden cot she had slept on, which kept her very warm and comfortable. A camp-fire was burning not more than 2 feet away from her with the carcass of what used to be some animal roasting away on the pit.

Before she could even get to her feet, a voice made its owner's presence known.

"So you finally awaken from slumber child?"

The voice belonged to a klingon woman in blood red robes, seated at the other side of the camp-fire. Seven frowned, wondering how she could possibly miss the woman when she had looked directly at the camp-fire.

"State your designation." intoned Seven in her Borg monotone, which she hadn't used in quite a long time. Inwardly she cringed, '47 years as a human and I still end up doing that,' Seven mentally scolded herself.

The klingon woman responded with a hearty laugh that echoed in the large cavern. "You come to me praying for help, instead you ask me my name! Very well child, I will humour you just this once. I am Kev'lan. Now if you dare ask 'Kev'lan who, I will rip your heart out and feed it to my Targ." growled the klingon woman with a bit of humour behind her words.

As the woman's words registered in her mind, "The ritual worked." Seven realized with a bit of awe in her voice as she finally got to her feet.

"Yes it worked." came the reply, "I have judged you and found you worthy. Your heart speaks true, child. Your family should not have suffered the way they did after all that they had selflessly done. It is dishonourable and hence I give you one, just this one chance to correct it. But heed my warning well child, meddling with time has consequences. Do not expect everything to be the same as before. You want to tear the fabric of time and weave it to your choosing. There will be knots in the fabric where you make changes and that will affect the universe as you have known it. Weave well Seven of Nine, daughter of Kathryn, there is much at stake."

Kev'lan said, delivering her warning in a grave tone of voice. Then with a dismissive wave of her hand she said, "Go!"

"Before I go may I ask two questions?" asked Seven.

Kev'lan eyed her critically for several long moments. Seven was about to turn away and start finding a way to get where Kev'lan had allowed her to go to, when Kev'lan ordered, "Ask."

Seven bowed her head gratefully and asked, "When am I being sent to? The date?"

"When you get there figure it out yourself. Use your Borg enhanced brains girl." snarked Kev'lan in a way only mothers could. "Your second question?"

"What has happened of Michael and Resse Janeway?"

"I do not know, they are not born as yet." Kev'lan spoke as she stood up and with another wave of her hand she ordered, "Now Go!"

With that Seven once again found herself heading for the darkness of unconsciousness.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own any of this, I'm just having some fun.

Rating: 'M' for later chapters and also cuz I want to be on the safe side.

Pairing: B'Elanna Torres and Seven of Nine 9 (of course)

Feedback: Yes Plz, I need it.

AN: All the Klingon words I have refered from .com and the dictionary provided there. A few words that I could not find, I made up.

AN 2: Sorry that I took SO long everybody. I was stuck for a bit there. Anyways if anyone has ideas about how this story should progress then please let me know. Your ideas are most welcome. To all who reviewed, thanx cuz you've put a million watt smile on my face. And now...

Chapter 5:-

Chapter 5:-

"Regeneration cycle incomplete."

As a habit borne of decades, Seven of Nine, late of the Borg Collective stepped down from the dais of her Regeneration alcove with the tiniest frown marring her brow. A slow realization grew upon her as she looked around at a place she hadn't seen in close to 47 years.

Cargo Bay 2.

She blinked once.

Twice.

Thrice.

And then it hit her like an out of control shuttle.

"It worked?" Still unable to believe it all, her words were more of a hesitant question rather than an assertive statement. Seven spun a full circle, taking in the gun-metal grey walls and the hundreds of equipment crates as if it were the most beautiful thing in the world. And in an askew way of looking at life, seeing her first home again, was like seeing the most beautiful thing in the world.

A huge smile bloomed on her face as she spoke a lot more confidently than before, "Computer, state the date as per the Gregorion calendar."

"The date is 14th March, 2357."

'55 years. That means that I have 8 years before Voyager reached home in the old timeline. This time I will do things right for the crew.' Seven thought to herself, her mind already browsing over her editic memory, review what was to occur and what she should or should not change.

Two hours later, Seven had updated herself with things pertaining to this timeline. There were differences that startled Seven quite a bit. One of the deviations from the norm was that Neelix never fell in love when he was supposed to. Instead he was aboard the ship instead of staying back at the Talaxian Colony they had passed just 1 week ago.

Seven was quite surprised at this. Deciding to dig further through the ship's logs as well as her own personal logs, she found something shocking that nearly brought her to her knees.

Apparently, Ensign Samantha Wildman had been in an accident on an away mission to an uninhabited planet a month ago. While leading the Biometrics team, the group happened upon a nesting site of a native animal, a rough equivalent of the now extinct Akandael Lizard found on Betazed. Like their Alpha Quadrant counterparts, their bite too was not only extremely poisonous but also disintegrated the flesh around the bite and throughout the rest of the body at a rapid rate as the poison spread.

However, unlike the Arkandael Lizard's poison, the Doctor could not find a safe and stable cure to the alien lizard's poison. Three hours after the incident, both Ensign Samantha Wildman and Lieutenant Sarab Schwerich were placed in LTSUs, otherwise known as Long Term Stasis Units.

Neelix, who considered Samantha Wildman as his sister and who also had been in his first fledgling relationship since Kes, with Lt. Schwerich had undergone an emotional breakdown which quite nearly bordered on violence.

Much to Seven of Nine's consternation, that anger and violence, soon after the incident, had been directed at her. The Doctor had hoped that Seven's nanoprobes would solve the problem with the poison like they had help in a number of other dire situations before. Neelix had held hope that the nanoprobes which had brought him back to life after being dead for literally hours, would deal with the poison as well. When it didn't, much to the entire crew's dismay, the beloved and gentle-hearted Talaxian had very and truly snapped.

The final nail in the coffin came when the Captain ordered Sam Wildman's Last Will and Testament to be accessed. Normally, it would not have been activated since the woman was not only still alive in stasis but also that she had appointed Neelix as Naomi Wildman's godfather and legal guardian in the eventuality of something happening to her. But both the Captain and the Doctor had declared Neelix unsuitable as a caregiver for the 7 year old half-katarian child due to his susceptibility to violence and his apparent depression.

The Will stated that in the absences of both herself and Neelix, Sam chose Naomi's best-friend and pseudo aunt/elder sister, Seven as Naomi's legal guardian. It was needless to say that Seven was definitely on Neelix's Hate list.

"Oh Fuck!" cursed Seven as she took in this news. Quickly she called up her personal logs pre-dating to the planet-side accident and carefully read through her recorded thoughts about the events that ensued till date.

The abrupt changes that she found in her life in such a short period of time was astounding. The logs said that after signing the Custodial documents, Seven and Naomi moved into their new quarters that they had exchanged the Wildman quarters with a crewman on Deck 8. Now Seven only returned to Cargo Bay 2 once every week to regenerate.

The days that followed were difficult for the close-knit crew. But the blow was hardest on the 7-year old half-katarian who had lost the ever present love and support of her mother and godfather. For the first week follows the incident, any time not spent in restless sleep was spent at Seven's side. It was obvious that the child feared that if she took her eyes off her best-friend then she too might leave her.

But the one thing that worried the entire crew was that, not once had any of them seen Naomi crying. When Seven was approached with these disturbing observations she had quickly assured everyone that Naomi indeed had cried on several occasions but only in the privacy of their quarters.

The first time Naomi had broken down and cried was directly after her mother was put in the LTS Unit. Wrapped up and cocooned in the ex-Borg's arms, Naomi had cried every night for the first 2 weeks.

Meanwhile, Neelix continued to struggle through his grief and depression under the tutelage of a holographic version of Councillor Deanna Troi. He had as yet to apologize to Seven for his behaviour and his harsh words but had agreed that he was not fit to step-up as Naomi's guardian but as soon as he was declared fit, he had made it widely known that he would file a formal request that his god-daughter be returned into his custody.

As a matter of fact, Neelix had returned to limited duty 3 days ago and was rumoured to be reinstated to full duty some time next week.

From her own logs, Seven found that all of Neelix's harsh words and actions had cut deeply considering that the Talaxian was one of the very few people who was kind to her when she first came aboard the ship.

In one of the previous logs an incident was mentioned that disturbed and saddened her greatly. Apparently Neelix had made an attempt to take Naomi and launch his ship that rested in the Shuttle Bay. Naomi was having her Biology lessons with the Doctor and Neelix had somehow managed to block his program after switching it off.

The 7-year old, through all of this, was left terrified and the crew greatly disturbed. Seven had held the trembling form of the girl as she cried confused and fearful tears due to her beloved godfather's actions.

The last log made the previous night stated that the Captain had called a unique meeting that included all the Senior staff except for Neelix. The Captain had referred to it as an intervention of sorts. It had been decided amongst Janeway, Chakotay and Tuvok that considering that the thing that Naomi needed most right now was stability and love.

And though both Neelix and Seven loved the half-katarian without a doubt in their hearts, Neelix was not able to give Naomi the stability that Seven could. Even Seven's most vocal adversary, Voyager's Chief Engineer had grudgingly agreed to the truth behind that statement. Seven on the other hand had insisted that Neelix to still be considered as Naomi Wildman's godfather.

After reading through her logs of the past month or so, Seven gritted herself for the emotional turmoil that she expected to find headed her way. All Seven could do was pray for strength and take in the unexpected changes as quickly as she could. After all, a lot of lives depended on her actions as well as inactions.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own any of this, I'm just having some fun. Rating: 'M' for later chapters and also cuz I want to be on the safe side.

Pairing: B'Elanna Torres and Seven of Nine (of course)

Feedback: Yes Plz, I need it.

AN: The Quote that I have used in this chapter is known as, "The Song of Songs" or "The Songs of Solomon" and to be specific its 8:6. Its has many versions and interpretations, this is one of them. It is not my purpose to offend anybody so please don't take it in that context.

Chapter 6:-

After checking on Naomi who had taken to spending Seven's regeneration nights in the Captain's quarters, Seven powered down her console and headed towards the messhall for breakfast. It was strange and yet... comforting to walk down those oh-so-well-known corridors of her first true home. Unbeknownst to Seven, the corners of her lips had curled upwards, a hint of happiness gracing her proud Nordic features with a smile. Were anyone to witness this moment, they would have attested that the statuesque blonde had Mona Lisa's smile. The one that held untold secrets within the shadow of the dimples of her smile.

She walked at a slow, almost lethargic pace, simply taking in the ghosts of the scents of the people who had walked the same path. She listened to the ever-present hum of the Warpcore and traced the sleek and efficient design of Voyager's interiors. It was then that the reality of it all finally sunk in... She, at long last, had finally come home.

And just liked that, her smile grew.

As it was only a little past 0600 hours, Seven did not meet anyone

along the way towards the messhall. Despite her happiness to be home once again, this was one thing that the ex-Borg was immensely grateful for. Seven knew that she would not only be seeing the younger versions of people that she had for years now, considered friends and family but also those friends and family that had died through the passing years who she had mourned for. She tried to prepare herself for the emotional upheaval that was to come with seeing about a hundred people walk about living their lives, when she in actuality had seen their deaths.

But emotions were always a touchy subject for her no matter that after all these years, she openly expressed them and a small part of her knew that this always would be so. After all, she thought bitterly, where did being emotional lead them to last time. Janeway's death for an emotional cause, Suki Kim, Gretchen Janeway, Miral Torres and so many others had walked down a path where they choose to care and didn't hesitate to show it. They wore their hearts on the sleeve and died for it. Yet another, and a larger part of Seven thought of the rewards the young had reaped by the sacrifice of their elders. At the end, when all had been said and done, the Federation celebrated the gifts of fruition, except...

Except for Voyager and what was left of her once proud and unceasingly committed crew, now left broken... hurting... incomplete... forever. No matter how perseveringly and valorously they seeked it, the Voyager family never really got their '… happily ever after…' that they so deserved.

Seven remembered the words in the final speech that Gretchen Janeway had delivered at the Resistance meeting, five days before she was assassinated. She whispered it to herself as she continued walking and remembered all the nuances of humanity that her mother had practically pounded into her duranium-enforced skull.

"... Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for

Love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave. Its flashes

are flashes of fire, a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love, all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly scorned..."

Shaking loose the cobwebs of her depressing thoughts and bittersweet memories Seven strode into the messhall and suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. The sight she was met with was alarming and yet just the slightest bit amusing as well.

Neelix was running around the ship's galley howling up a storm. The reason being that his bushy eyebrows were on fire.

After gaping for half a second, Seven jumped into action, grabbing the dishcloth laying on the kitchen counter and rushed to the poor man's side. She tried her best to put out the tiny flames but the Talaxian's squirming and hopping from one place to the next was not helping the matter in the slightest.

With an annoyed growl she pushed her furry friend to the ground,

effortlessly holding him in place with her Borg enhanced hand and

ignored his futile struggle. With her other hand Seven firmly rubbed the cloth on Neelix's face to put out the flames.

The following scenario that unfolded was such that any person walking into the messhall at that moment would come to an erroneous and disastrous conclusion that the statuesque Seven of Nine was indeed attacking the much beloved Delta Quadrant native and was just about to kill him.

Unfortunately for the young ex-Borg that is exactly what happened.

_**Acknowledgements to all who read/reviewed/added to their list:**_

Dragonkeywee,

nightreader56 (thanx for your idea, it really helped *smile*),

cellen8,

spiffy,

goldenruhl,

GoddessAnjanee,

manticore-gurl071134,

Swishla,

Guyana Rose,

WEclipse,

Underthelivingmoon,

JediMasterMiraxHorn,

RogueWolf69,

Critter-21,

LowFlyer1080,

Emerald Demona,

And there was 1 reviewer that didn't leave a name so I find it difficult to thank him/her, but I most definitely do thank this person.

Thank you so much for your positive feedback and please keep them coming. If I have forgotten to mention anybody here then I'm sorry for my error.

Also if I am making mistakes or if you have any ideas to share then you are most welcome to do so. This is the first story I'm writing and its not beta read so I would be happily accept any words of advice from the more seasoned, not to mention utterly brilliant writers here.


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of this, I'm just having some fun._

_Rating: 'M' for later chapters and also cuz I want to be on the safe side._

_Pairing: B'Elanna Torres and Seven of Nine (of course)_

_Feedback: Yes Plz, I need it. if anybody has any ideas as to where this story has the potential to go then please do share with me. Ideas are always welcome._

_**Chapter 7:-**_

Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres, Chief of Engineering of the Federation Starship USS Voyager was fuming. And as was practically a tradition now, when B'Elanna Torres reached the 'fuming' level, she cursed up a storm to cyclonic proportions. It was usual. It was the norm. It was tradition. And nobody who had met her would disagree.

She had been working four double shifts in a row upgrading the impulse engines. After finally wrapping up the loose ends late last night, all she wanted was a hot bath and a good night's sleep. Instead she entered her quarters to find her Helmsman boyfriend wanting a roll in the hay after his hard day at work pushing the auto-pilot control button when he thought that nobody was looking and quickly changing back to manual as soon as someone came close to his workstation.

As usual, a huge fight ensued over Tom's needs and how B'Elanna couldn't be bothered with fulfilling them. When the helmsman finally left in a huff after his temperamental girlfriend had verbally deflated his ego to the size of a pea, the human-klingon hybrid finally got some sleep but only for all of 3 hours. She was livid when she was hailed by the Gamma shift at 0500 hours on her day off.

After a long crawl through the jeffries tubes for nearly an hour it was found that what was supposed to be a power surge that affected decks 5,6,7 and 8 turned out to be a Borg alcove throwing a wobbly temper tantrum in Cargo Bay 2.

The already frazzled engineer's temper turned into a raging inferno when the word 'Borg' came up. As she stormed out of Engineering while asking the computer after Seven's location, she did not notice one of the Gamma shifters hail security. The rage reached new heights when B'Elanna was joined by a security detail headed by Tuvok.

B'Elanna was just about tearing into anything that moved, namely the Security detail when the messhall doors slid open. But the vehement words died on her lips as she and the others saw the scene unfolding in front of them.

Seven of Nine was smothering a struggling Neelix in an attempt to kill him. First, she thanked Kathless profusely for this chance and then with a battle-worthy roar, B'Elanna lunged at the blonde. She smiled a feral smile when she felt her shoulder violently connect with the ex-drone's side and felt her ribs give under the onslaught. Not a second later the momentum drove the two into a bulkhead with Seven taking the brunt of the force. B'Elanna was able to gleefully land at the least, half a dozen punches before the Security detail had wrestled her off the blonde.

Just when Seven felt that the Talaxian's flaming eyebrows had been taken care of, she felt an unforgiving force slam into her. She not only felt the wind being knocked out of her but also two of her ribs breaking and puncturing her left lung. Not a second later, she felt her skull literally rammed into the bulkhead behind her.

Looking at her assailant through the black spots that marred her sight, she saw Lt. B'Elanna Torres on top of her delivering painful blows on her person. Another second later, the black spots grew in size until they encompassed her vision entirely.

Then for third time in as many days and much to her growing annoyance, Seven blacked out.

The bright lights and the stark white d cor of the ship's Sickbay were nothing short of punishment to Seven as she woke up. When her vision cleared, she saw the Doctor, Captain Janeway, Commander Tuvok and a teary-eyed and red-nosed Naomi Wildman.

Seeing the state the child was in, Seven immediately opened her arms for the child to settle into. Seven ignored her protesting ribs and comforted her decades old yet currently young and tiny friend when the half-katarian took Seven up on her silent offer.

"Naomi Wildman, are you functioning within acceptable parameters?" asked Seven, knowing that the half-katarian had always enjoyed talking to her in this manner.

"I am now. Please don't leave me too Seven. I thought that Lt. Torres had killed you. I can't lose you too. Please don't leave me. Please! Please!" Sobbed the little child uncontrollably. Her entire form was shaking within Seven's arms. The blonde ex-Borg did her best to comfort and reassure the child she was responsible for. Slowly Naomi calmed down and finally fell into an exhausted sleep in the safety of Seven's arms.

During this time everybody had given the two their space and privacy. When Seven was sure that the child was fast asleep, she motioned with her hand for the three crewmates to come out of the Doctor's office.

As the Doctor scanned his patient with his tricorder, Janeway stepped forward to speak with the woman she considered as her daughter. "Hello Seven. How are you feeling?" she whispered, mindful of the sleeping child.

"Like a shuttle rammed into me repeatedly." answered Seven, whispering as well while trying to reign in her emotions at seeing her dead mother alive and well again.

At the raised eyebrows from all three of them she hurriedly explained that she was attempting to learn humour and internally hoped that her excuse would withstand scrutiny. Shaking her head, Seven enquired as to what happened.

"Lt. Torres assaulted you when she thought that you were attempting to murder Mr. Neelix." answered Tuvok, "It was only after you lost consciousness later that Mr. Neelix informed us that you in fact were helping him rather than assaulting him."

Janeway interjected, "B'Elanna is currently under arrest in the Brig... pending any assault charges you may wish to file. Oh and Neelix would like to meet you and thank you as well as apologize to you, but if you don't want to see him, he said he would understand that as well."

Seven sighed while shifting the child in her arms to a more comfortable and less painful position. Gathering her thoughts she finally spoke, "I will not file any charges against the Lt. However, I do wish to speak to her regarding the slightly demented and happy smile on her face while she 'beat the crap out of me' and just how her actions have affected Naomi."

"Also please inform Mr. Neelix that I would be glad to meet him. Also tell him that there is nothing to forgive and that I knew that he did not truly mean his words and that I will be happy to assist him whenever he feels the need for anything. Tell him that I consider him a valued friend and he can depend upon me."

Janeway smiled down at the woman she had severed from the Collective and the person that she had become today. "I'll do that. You take some rest and you're off duty for the next three days. Get well and spend some time with Naomi, she's really shaken up over this and I don't really blame her."

With that the Captain and Commander left for their respective duties and the Doctor returned to his office. Seven was left alone with a sleeping half-katarian to contemplate over the situation that she had jumped head-first into.

**_Feedback:-_**

_kttykiwi Hey Kiwi sorry for the REALLY late update but law college and legal internship sucks all the energy out of me. I hope I can update sooner next time but I can assure you this that I will NOT give up on this story. I also hope that you like the next chapter._

_femslashlvr Thanx for adding me to your alert list._

_Axiegirl21 *grin* now I never kiss and tell. I hope you like the update._

_nightterror56 Seven has a difficult road up ahead of her but it'll be worth it. I also know exactly how you feel._

_Artemis the Virgin Huntress Thanx for adding me to your alert list._

_Guyana Rose Thanx for adding me to your alert list. I am glad you like my story._

_Morbid Crow Thanx for adding me to your alert list._

_thesecret21 Thanx for adding me to your alert list._

_Swishla There is going to be trouble alright...for more than one person. Stay tuned for more._

_jojobevco Thanx._

_LadyoftheDarkness1 Thanx for adding me to your favourite authors and stories list. I love my story and I am glad you like it too. I am definitely going to finish it._

_firelarc Thanx for adding me to your favourite stories list._


End file.
